FORMER Penrith star Lachlan Coote is itching for a Nines showdown with the team that sent him packing.

While any resentment towards the Panthers for releasing him early from his contract has faded, the Cowboys recruit admits battling his boyhood club will be strange. So the sooner he can get that first Cowboys-Panthers game out of the way, the better for the talented young fullback.

With North Queensland not scheduled to meet Penrith in the National Rugby League until Round 23, Coote is keen to face the Panthers during the finals of the Auckland 9s, starting Saturday.

“It definitely would (shake off a few nerves) and it’d be good to beat them,” he said with a grin.

“I’m looking forward to playing them in the season when it’s the real season and hopefully we get up then, and if we play them in the 9s, it’ll be a bit of a muckaround and good.”